Honoring Our Nation’s Heroes

This week we marked Veterans Day and honored those who have bravely served in the Armed Forces.

Elmer Davis, a U.S. war correspondent during World War II put it this way: “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” I could not agree more.

We are able to get up every day, go to work, build businesses, and spend time with our families and friends because brave men and women are willing to fight for our freedom. Our brave military service members – past and present – have made incredible sacrifices to preserve our liberties and freedoms. Those sacrifices must never be forgotten.

Every American should show appreciation for the efforts of servicemen and women who protect our nation and help the rest of the world.

By honoring many generations of veterans and teaching our children to appreciate their sacrifices, we can help to honor the legacy of our nation’s heroes.

We must always remember those who never came back, service members who left their homes and families to fight for our country and have not yet returned. We must remember prisoners of war and those missing in action, many of whom suffered greatly. We will never forget their bravery and they will always be in our hearts.

We must also support military families and help where we can. Parents, wives, husbands, siblings, and children of our service members all make incredible sacrifices. They have given so much to our communities and our country. We salute them for all that they do, and stand with them in offering the love and support of a grateful California.

As grateful Californians, we must continue to do everything possible to improve the transition from military to civilian life for our veterans and their families. There are many services available to veterans and their families, including job training, higher education, health care, and housing. Veterans Day reminds us all that we must keep the promises made to our veterans when they enlisted. State government must do more to help our active duty service members, our veterans, and their families.

If you have served or are currently serving in the military, thank you. Thank you for making this the land of the brave, so that we can live in the land of the free. As we mark Veterans Day this year, may God continue to bless our heroes and their families, now and always.